


Infinity

by Iron_Daddy



Series: I_D's Starker Bingo 2019 [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Pirate, BAMF Peter Parker, BAMF Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Captivity, I forgot what to tag smh, M/M, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter is like 22 in Human years or smth so not underage but whatever, Pirate!AU, Pirate!Tony, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Starker Bingo 2019, Starvation, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, They got each others backs mans, This bean can be a savage and a cutie in 0.1 seconds wtf, Tony Stark Has A Heart, hostage, mermaid!peter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 12:31:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20209789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iron_Daddy/pseuds/Iron_Daddy
Summary: The Avenger, a mighty Galleon, vessel of the pirate crew, The Avengers, led by their Captain Steve, on a quest to find the 'Infinity' treasure before their enemies the Crew beneath the Fearsome Captain Thanos.All is well until they are forced through mermaid waters, vicious sea creatures who prey on humans with super strength, beautiful looks and alluring songs.The crew is attacked by a herd of Merfolk, their luck, or perhaps misfortune, is the capture of one of the creatures, Peter, whose slowly but unconsciously cursing the crew into insanity and unrest.That is, all but First Mate Tony Stark who seems to have grown some sort of fondness for the captive. He vows to do what he can to protect Peter when the Captain calls for the Mermaids execution after it becomes evident of the curse the beast has 'cast' upon them.Starker Bingo 2019: Pirate AU





	Infinity

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGERS: Some mentions of injuries but I'm not super graphic, threats of murder and violence, some reference to starvation and one tiny reference at non-con but the vaguest thing ever that you probably can't tell where it even is. There won't be any further mentions of non-con nor will any occur. Mentions of slavery or selling people I guess too?? I gotta put these in just in case?? But dw nobody gets condemned to slavery. Some swearing in there too.
> 
> ANYWAY
> 
> WOW WTF AM I DOING WITH THIS AU I RUINED IT SCREEEEEEE
> 
> I'm getting to deep in this shit when in reality I just wanted Peter to be a mermaid and Tony to be like hot damn thats a fine piece of fish and that be it
> 
> WHEN DID IT BECOME 13 PAGES IN ONLY A FEW HOURS WTF R U DOING?? ;-;
> 
> I'm just gonna cry dont mind me.
> 
> also this is one of my fills for the starker 2019 bingo ree c: my first square and my first attempt at Starker actually so...

The crew were the stuff of legends.

Honestly, it’s true, you could ask anyone about the crew aboard The Avenger and they’d all tell you some variation of how “Oh lord that blood-thirsty Pirate crew?”

So while sure, they were notorious and commonly viewed as criminals, their morals weren’t entirely bad. Most of their victims were shitstains to society who deserved what they got. It couldn’t be said they didn’t enjoy such a life though, the freedom of the sea, the thrill of the battle and the money.

Arguable the best part would be after a great haul, where they’d gained a small amount of wealth to blow on ale or women or in some cases men. Where they could kick back and enjoy the results of their adventures.

_ But without getting to deep into things of the past- _

“What do you mean?” The Captain asked at the claims of one of his crew members. 

“The seas we’ll have to travel through, Cap, it's mermaid territory.” Scott pointed out, telescope grasped in one hand.

"He's right." Stephen confirmed.

A shudder ran through some of the crew. Mermaids were not to be messed with, fierce and powerful creatures who lulled their prey with sweet songs before ripping them to shreds. None so dared tred their waters without accepting their inevitable death. 

“We have to turn back, it’s madness.” Sam chirped from the back of the gathered crew, waiting to see the verdict of their blonde Captain. 

“But we’ve come all this way!” Thor boomed in retaliation. 

Their journey to find an ancient treasure had been a long one. months on end, one where many had lost their lives, be it to opponent crews after the same treasure, or the harsh unforgiving sea, men shoved overboard in storms or starvation or scurvy.

The list was long.

But the crew, the strongest of the strong among pushed onward.

“Your stupidity will get us killed, we’re lacking the energy to fight off the hordes of mermaids.” Loki chimed and Thor scrunched up his nose, Loki elbowing the bigger pirate and shooting him a look. Thor shut up after that.

The Captain let everyone argue among themselves for a second before turning to his First Mate for his opinion.

“What do you suppose is the best course of action, Tony?”

The First Mate took a moment to think before nodding.

“I think we should continue, we still have the numbers and the strength, and as Thor mentioned, we’ve been at this for so long it seemed… rather ridiculous to consider defeat.”

“I agree. We can hardly let that lowlife Thanos and his crew beat us to it either.”

Tony laughed at the comment. The other crew had caused them nothing but trouble, both after the same legendary treasure, and clashing horns more than once along the way. For the time being they were in the lead, Thanos and his crew not being brave enough to tread Mermaid waters, electing for a much longer route.

This could be their only chance. 

“Rightly so.” Tony gave a weak smile. 

“Silence!” The Captain urged, the crew settling down slowly to listen to their Cap.

"We’re pushing forward, we cannot afford delays or diversions lest we face the possibility of that scoundrel Thanos taking the lead.” He paused again, perhaps for dramatic effect? Or breath? The crew could never tell.

“We will alternate guarding the ship, double the members on lookout. At the first sign of danger sound the alarm.”

“Yes Cap!”

“Pst, do you know how much you could sell a mermaid for?” Rocket whispered to the two closest members stood beside him.

“Hm?” Nebula asked, interested while Groot looked over silently, the poor kid had been captured by an enemy crew a few months back and lost his tongue for his snarky attitude against them, rendering his speechless. 

“A whole fucking lot’a money. We gotta catch one and we’ll be sorted for our whole lives.”

Groot made a noise of agreement best he could, and Rocket smirked at the prospect of catching one of the beasts.

Nebula reluctantly agreed too.

The weren’t attacked until the 3rd night in Mermaid waters. After a quiet first and second day and night, they’d relaxed slightly and thus, the Mermaids attacked, expecting the crews guard to be dropped.

Bruce rung the bell frantically, alerting the ship of their current attack. 

“Man the cannons, if you get a shot take it!”

“Grab your firearms!”

“What's that singing-”

“Don’t listen to it!”

“Slash any of the foul beasts you can!”

The fight was chaotic, mermaids occasionally leaping against the ship, with their ability to fly so far from the water some of the men faltered, be it at the beauty or the supernatural ability, and that was their downfall. As the mermaids launched upwards, they’d grab onto any crew they could, yanking them down into the water to be devoured, all the while songs of entrapment luring some men to jump from the ship, those weak in mind to resist.

But the crew were not all weak, and slowly the members began to fight back, hits landed here and there meant some Mermaids retreated, others held back by flame torches and sharp swords. 

While they were casualties, many so, the crew prevailed, coming out of the encounter battered but victorious.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” Bucky asked, eyes narrow, watching as a couple of the crew attempted to restrain one of the mermaids they’d tangled into the fishing nets to capture. Now the fight was over, the mermaid upon deck was the center of attention. A male mermaid at that, a very unusual sight that had Rocket gleeful at the amount of money they’d get for it.

“Capturing it, what does it look like?” Rocket barked as the mermaid tried to resist, clawed fingers attempting to scratch at the short crew members face. Rocket leapt back, leaving the mermaid still half tangled in the net, fangs bared, hissing viciously, eyes darting from any nearby crew who dared move.

“Is that wise? We should kill it. It’s too dangerous to contain.” Brunnhilde butted into the conversation.

“No! We caught it, we’re going to sell it!” Rocket retaliated.

“Hm. I don’t think it’s wise to keep him on the ship. It leaves us vulnerable. We can’t let him go either, kill him.” The Captain declared and Rocket’s protest fell on death ears.

“Yeah Kill it!”

“Get that thing out of here!”

“Wait now, Cap, it could be useful, we’ve got to travel back through those waters, right? If we had this thing with us, we could bargain for safe passage?” Tony mussed and the Captain considered it.

“Fine. But if he kills anyone, _that’s on **you**._” Cap pointed, finger jabbing into Tony's chest. Tony remained silent.

“Bu- But-” Rocket protested weakly.

“Silence. We’re restraining the beast, place it in the hold. I want a guard posted there too, every minute of everyday. Someone not stupid enough to be bewitched.”

At his command, two of the more stronger crewmates moved forward to restrain the tangled mermaid, moving the squirming beast down into the hold, into the tank they stored their live fish to keep fresh. 

“Tony you can take first watch since you’re so keen to not kill the thing.” Cap ordered and Tony nodded. 

The crews attention moved to repairing damages and tending wounds and ensuring they were not off course from their desired destination. 

Tony perched atop one of the barrels of ale in the hold, watching the mermaid in the tank with only mild curiosity. The thing had gone quite docile now, perhaps it was the very minimal exposure to sea water, or the containment and assured defeat. 

Instead the mermaid was curiously flicking his fingers at any fish who dared swim close to him in the tank. The fish would always startle and swim away before trying again not 10 seconds later.

Now that Tony properly studied the mermaid, he only looked young, maybe around 20 or so; had he been human. He certainly had a youthful face but all mermaids did. So it was hardly a great factor to use to approximate ages. Short somewhat fluffy looking brown hair, how that was possible Tony knew not, considering the mermaid was underwater. Doe eyes, wide, following after the fish yet occasionally flickering up to catch Tony’s gaze before breaking the contact just as quickly. 

Tony couldn’t help the curiosity the longer he sat and watched the creature. 

“Do Mermaids have names?” He asked quietly, shocking even himself. He hadn’t intended to speak, lest the beast lure him in and rip out his throat, but after watching the other for a couple hours he couldn’t help himself. 

The mermaid tilted its head, a childlike movement that had Tony furrowed his brow. The more he watched the more he could only see someone human, someone so innocent and carefree despite being locked in a tank on a pirate ship… Eventually the mermaid nodded.

“I’m Tony.” Tony decided, a name would hardly give the creature the power to overwhelm him, so it seemed safe. The mermaid paused again before he dipped up to the surface of the tank, resting his arms on the edge of the glass, chin resting on his hands. 

“Peter.”

“Peter.” Tony replied, testing the name out. It didn’t sound like.. Well what he’d expected a mermaid to be called, it sounded so human and normal.. It was peculiar. 

The mermaid nodded, as if assuming Tony was testing the pronunciation or something.

“Hey, Tony, Cap says I’m to take over watching the thing.” Clint announced from outside the hold, hand knocking against the door, a sound that had Peter dive back into the water instantly, curling up into one of the corners of the tank, fish frantically swimming to avoid the larger shape, striking mermaid tail thrashing to shove the other fish from his space, a mix of reds and blue scales protecting the tail. 

Tony quirked an eyebrow at the reaction but didn’t speak.

“Sure thing.” He replied, letting Clint in, sparing one last glance at Peter who had tucked himself into the corner, facing away from the two humans.

Tony left.

That’s not to say he couldn’t help but think of Peter for the remainder of that day, as night drew closer and he found himself finally able to rest in his cabin, after assisting repairs all over the galleon. 

The total damage hadn’t been half as bad as assumed, everything had been either salvageable or not important enough to fix straight away.

The casualties were.. Not as extreme as expected but not a small number either. They’d lost quite a few cabin boys and a handful of hired brawn but nobody of intense significance and so that helped ease the aftermath. Injuries ranged from shallow cuts to one man who’d had a chunk taken from his shoulder and another from his arm, he spent the night unable to keep silent from the pain. 

But now they were merely a week at most from the treasure! If the weather stayed in their favour, wind blowing them forwards, they could even get there within 5 days. The mood perked at that, and a windy yet uneventful night restored the hope they’d soon achieve the legendary ‘Infinity’ treasure. 

Tony couldn’t sleep that night, or rather sleep didn’t claim him as fast as he would have liked, exhausted from the battle they’d endured that morning and the subsequent repairs he’d aided in.

Instead his thoughts drifted to the mermaid, to Peter. 

The kid apparently had refused anyone’s questions, nor looked at anyone who’d since guarded him, which after Clint had been Nat and then Gamora and currently was Bucky. Sure Tony supposed none of them had a lot of tacts for emotions or being considerate, unless they had to deceive, but still, why had the guy only spoken to him? 

Was it just because Tony had first watch and the boy had steeled himself not to speak since then? Or what? It was confusing. Tony didn’t want to think too deep into it, but he still couldn’t drag his thoughts from the mermaid.

He knew, of course, (everyone did) that mermaids of either gender were beings of intense beauty, it was one of the ways they lured so many to their deaths, but the one they had locked up in the hold? Tony could safely say he’s most certain that there is not another mermaid in existence to compete against him. 

Oh God he was lusting after a fucking mermaid. Was this some sort of after effect from talking to him or maybe being in the room with him? Should he alert the others? Was it some kind of mental attack to lower his guard? 

The paranoia spiraled from there until Tony finally succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep.

* * *

“Tony get your ass up, or Cap’ll make you walk the plank at this rate!” Scott interrupted Tony’s sleep, the other waking slowly, eyes squinting at the light, the fiery lantern held by Scott, who seemed frantic.

“Wh-What- I’m up- shh-”

“Cap wants you to watch the creature this morning, apparently everyone who watched him yesterday refuse to go back in, but won't explain why. You’re the only one who seems unaffected?”

“Nope- Nope, I’m most certainly affected.” Tony dramatized, coughing weakly yet fake. “Very must not go back-” He childishly pouted and Scott frowned.

“The others didn’t act like that, in fact apparently Clint cried at the thought of going back.” 

“W-What?”

“Clint broke down into tears, literally begged not to be sent back in with him, Nat and Gamora have both been deadly silent since, and Bucky jumps at every little noise, Stephen is on guard currently.”

And now Tony was awake because some of the biggest badass on The Avenger were scared of Peter? Peter who spent his first morning in captivity flicking fish and getting shy when he caught Tony’s eye? 

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah I know! So Cap wants you on the full morning and he’s gonna send Thor this evening.”

“O-Okay Okay- I’m going-” Tony grumbled, wanting to know exactly what was happening, quickly slinging on the closest clothes he could find and making his way down to the hold, taking over guard from Stephen who left without a word, eyes darting constantly in fear, hands shaking tremors refusing to stay still. 

“What the fuck?” Tony whispered to himself, taking his seat on the same barrel, waiting until he was sure Stephen was out of earshot before speaking to the Mermaid still huddled in the same corner. Had he spent the whole time here?

“Hey Peter.” Tony spoke softly, watching the boys head whip round so quick in the water Tony feared he’d break his neck. Wide yet elated? Doe eyes stared back, the mermaid quickly swimming to the surface, forearms resting against the edge of the glass once more, smile present. 

_ Fuck that was a really cute smile. _

“Hi Tony! I knew you’d come back!” Peter beamed. 

“Mh, Yeah, about that, why does everyone else shit their pants at the thought of coming back to see you _huh_?”

Peter turned his head to the side for a second before exhaling a sigh.

“I guess it’s a curse?”

“A curse?” Tony asked skeptically, because if he’d accidentally cursed his crew he was so going to be walking the plank, first mate or not.

“Well, we Merfolk have well… it’s like a power of.. Allure? When in the sea. It’s what draws you humans in… but out of the ocean, should we be unbonded, it reverses. We traumatize or repel or.. Well anything negative, to stop humans trying to claim us when our powers are too weak to defend ourselves but it’s pretty lousy because half the time it leads them to try to kill us. It varies between person to person though, some can go mad, others fearful, some even kill themselves...There's plenty of ways it can affect humans.. “ Peter explained. 

“It’s meant to stop us Merfolk from ever abandoning the sea. Hardly anybody does anyway, but it keeps us caged. Even if we made it to land, we’d be attacked or we’d repel everyone unless we're bonded to a human, and finding a human to bond to is impossible because of the curse. So..” Peter trailed.

“But it’s not working on me?” Tony added and Peter nodded.

“When everyone elected to kill me or sell me on deck, that was the curse acting up. None of them wanted me near. But you. You defended me, and you came back to see me of your own free will… I don’t know why.” Peter explained and Tony nodded.

He HAD been the only one to speak up against murdering or selling Peter.

“So what? Am I like? Resistant or something?”

“I don’t know, before today ends you could go crazy, maybe it’s taking longer with you? I really don’t understand… Talking to me this much should have driven you to death by now.. Our voices.. The more we speak the more you humans- well-”

“Try to get away from you?” 

“Exactly. But you’ve been locking the guards in this room with me, so none of you have been able to escape, thus the side effects of exposure to me.”

“Mh.. Does it reverse?”

“I guess, after a while? Some stuff may never, but other things could.”

“Huh.. so I guess I just sit here all morning listening to you talk and we see if I go crazy enough to die.”

Peter’s lips quirked into a smile at that and Tony gave a small smile in return at his own morbid joke. 

“I guess so.” Peter mumbled in a quiet reply, one arm reaching back into the water to prod a fish the opposite direction after it had swam into the mermaids hip twice.

“I thought Mermaid were meant to get along with fish?” Tony asked, having seen the boy both stare at said creatures with awe and also flick away as if insulted.

“We… don’t really get along. I think they’re.. Kind of pretty? But they’re stupid.”

“And I suppose you’re the superior race of the ocean?” Tony teased.

“I guess. We could kill a shark, while a fish would be eaten.. So… We’re sort of the predator of the seas,” Peter replied seriously.

“What, a little thing like you?” Tony teased again, knowing full well the unseen strength of the merfolk. Peter bared his fangs in a hiss. Then broke into a smile.

_ Fuck it really was a cute smile. _

“Little old me could kill everyone on this ship in their sleep if I wanted.”

“Mh..”

Tony wasn’t sure how he’d suddenly grown so comfortable around the Mermaid after only two encounters but he felt relaxed even at the promise he could be killed in an instant. 

“Then you’d miss my excellent company.” Tony joked and Peter gave a laugh, a trilling sound that had Tony pause.

Holy shit Mermaid laughs sounded like fucking bells or something_ what the fuck?_

“Perhaps so. I’ve never spoken with a human this long, any short encounter ended with them pleading for their lives or insulting me.. It’s a welcome change to speak to an intellect.”

“Why thank you for deeming me so worthy Mighty Peter.” Tony praised and Peter simply rolled his eyes. 

“I take it back, you’re an idiot.”

Tony dramatically clutched his chest.

“I’ve been wounded. Such an insult to my person. How will I survive?”

Peter snorted and shook his head. 

Silence fell for a moment.

“Hey.. don’t you need to eat? What do Merfolk even eat?” Tony asked, because it had been just over a day and none of them had fed the mermaid.

“I’m managing, we can go longer than you without food, I can eat fish though it’s considered a taboo? Just sea related plants should serve well, seaweed or whatever gets caught in your fishing nets?”

“I’ll see what I can bring you next time.” Tony promised. 

Peter perked up. 

“Next time? So you’re coming back again? Not driven away?”

“Nope, not driven away, least I don’t feel repulsed or anything like that?” Tony mused and Peter gave another grin, and _god damn these adorable smiles were attacking Tony_\- 

“Good.”

“So if you don’t need to eat as often as us, does that mean you have longer lifespans or something? If you can go longer without sustenance?”

“It varies, we don’t live an extreme period of time beyond that of a human, maybe at most 200 years?”

“Blimey.” Tony gives a whistle.

“Most die before then. Be it through attacks or whatever-”

“How old are you?”

“In Merfolk years I’m about 50? But in human years I think it’d be 21? Maybe 22?”

“Oh, do Mermaids age slower then?”

“We do, we keep a rather youthful appearance until at least 150 or so.”

Tony paused, as if assessing the knowledge before he initiated a different conversation. 

“It’ll probably be only four days till we reach Titan, that’s where we’re headed, to get some sort of legendary ‘Infinity’ treasure, and then five or so days back to Mermaid waters, so less than two weeks until I can convince them to set you free.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey don’t sweat it, no big deal.”

“It is to me. You saved my life.”

“I’m also the reason you’re trapped in a tank on a pirate ship?”

“But I’m not dead so anything is more preferable, and this tank isn’t so bad if you’re here to talk to, instead of me trying to ignore the guards lest I make them more insane than I already do so.”

“Well..”

“This is preferable.”

“Well-”

A knock interrupted his sentence, was it already afternoon?

“Tony? S’Thor. Cap sent us to take over.” 

Us?

When Tony opened the door, both Loki and Thor stood waiting and Tony felt reluctant to leave, but he needed food and he needed to nab something for Peter too. Peter on the other hand had already splashed his way back down to his corner but to Tony’s surprise when Loki and Thor stepped over the threshold into the hold of the ship, his head turned, eyes wide.

“Um- yeah okay- thanks-” Tony mumbled, eyes curiously watching Peter as Loki took a seat on a chest while Thor shuffled some barrels to sit on and prop his feet up.

Tony took one last look at Peter, who caught his eye. 

‘I’ll be back, I promise’ He mouthed and then turned to leave, bolting the door behind him.

He planned on getting some food but alas, Sam stood waiting for him at the end of the walkway.

“Cap wants to see you.” He spoke and then left before Tony could protest he was fucking hungry cut him some slack.

Steve stood waiting in the Captain's quarters, leaning against the desk, Bucky sat at the side of the room, silently. 

“Gee Cap couldn’t even let me get some breakfast?” Tony snarked and Captain remained unfazed.

“Tony this is serious, that beast is afflicting the entire ship, Stephen hasn’t been able to keep his hands still since, it’s hardly good for our mapper to be unable to hold his own tools. Clint sobbed. I’ve never seen that man cry, never.” Cap started. A gust of wind rattled the windows at the back of the quarters that opened to a small porch. Bucky jumped and his eyes darted to the door in fear. Tony could hear how his breathing was erratic. The guy was terrified. _Holy shit._

“And.. Bucky is terrified of any sudden noise.” Steve explained softly watching Bucky tuck his arms round him, pity evident in the Captains eyes. 

“So what did you call me here for?”

“Because **YOU** wanted to keep that monster on this ship. You either find a way to cease it’s afflictions by morning or you will kill it. If you refuse I’ll throw both you and it off the fucking ship..”

Wow the Cap was being serious because it was rare Tony ever heard such language. 

“Understood Cap.” Tony mumbled, seeing it wise not to joke in the circumstances.

“Thor and Loki have agreed to watch until Dawn. You are to take over then and if, by the afternoon, nothing is resolved, I'll make true of my threats.” The lingering promise of the ocean remained.

Tony nodded weakly.

“You’re dismissed.”

Well **Fuck**.

**Author's Note:**

> SHIT I DIDNT KNOW WHERE TO END THIS AND I PANICKED AND AGHHHH HEPLP
> 
> I'm making steve an ooc asshole bc i dont really like steve so :') i needed someone to be an asshole captain to cause the conflict and stuff. i'm making some super vague references to mcu, i.e stephens hand issue or buckys probs trauma or whatever- oh yeah and then Thanos and infinity and titan and shit- but ye ignore my cringe attempts at relating to canon lmao.
> 
> I'M DEBATING WHETHER IM GONNA CHUCK IN SOME 18+ STUFF AND BUMP THIS UP TO EXPLICIT BUT CURRENTLY ITS JUST TEEN FOR LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE AND STUFF SOOOO... 
> 
> Should I add the diddly doo or leave it??


End file.
